Q&A with a Foster Home

Written by one of our fantastic fosters in Lincoln. We need fosters here in Omaha too! Especially cat and kitten fosters!

Raise your hand if you ever thought I was crazy for fostering dogs/kittens? Now raise your hand if you thought about fostering after you saw all the adorable posts and the fun I was having while fostering. I want to start off by saying fostering isn’t always the most enjoyable hobby… yes, there is some responsibility and work, but it is BY FAR one of the most enjoyable and rewarding experiences!

Here are the typical questions that I get about fostering:

Aren’t these dogs mean? How do you train them? Or where do they come from?
I can’t say that this didn’t cross my mind before I started fostering, but NO they are not mean. Yes, some have been abused by previous owners and those are harder to gain trust from, but 95% of the dogs that Town and Country Humane Society rescues are strays or owner surrenders who just want to be loved and taken care of.
Training is one of the easiest things apparently. If you stick to the reward system they learn fast! Jenna and I have had 50 fosters and we have potty trained almost all of them, including 22 puppies, kinda, LOL!
They normally come from reservations around NE, Durant and San Angelo, Texas, and Pittsburg, KS. Mostly kill shelters from overpopulation of dogs on the streets. If you don’t know what a kill shelter is, don’t google it, trust me.

Aren’t they all old, sick, and unwanted dogs?
The weird thing is, most of them are under the age of 1. Out of the 50 fosters I’ve have had 33 have been under 1. The great part is that you can kinda choose who you foster and what type of dog it is.

Isn’t it hard to give them up?
Yes! Prime example, a friend of mine fostered ONE dog and foster failed!
(WARNING: Foster fail does not mean that the dog died, it just means that you failed at being able to give up the furry little pup and adopted!)
Even though it is hard, you get to see the dogs on our Facebook page and see what a wonderful life they get to live! We have gotten updates on most of our foster dogs since their adoptions and if you ever need a pick me up, our Facebook page will give you all the warm and fuzzies! Plus, when the adopters have kids, you get to see sheer excitement from them. It’s so worth it.

How expensive is it?
Actually, it’s very INexpensive. The rescue provides everything necessary: food, toys, treats, kennels, leashes, dog beds, collars, and all the vetting (Pending what we all have available for supplies)! Your expense is really just time (which isn’t even that much!) And if you choose to occasionally spoil your foster with a special toy!

How much time is involved?
I think this is the biggest factor for most people. You have to be available some weekends to meet potential adopters, and be home enough to let your dog out. Most of our fosters have their own dogs and enjoy fostering so it works well for them, and hey, who doesn’t like making new doggy friends!
Most of our dogs that we have fostered have only stayed with us for 2-4 weeks then they get adopted, so most are short term, our longest has been 2 months.
Lastly, these dogs have a story and it is YOU as the foster who gets to tell it. If you are interested in fostering or know someone that would be great at it, I urge you to fill out the application. Even if you only take one dog in the year, it makes a huge difference! We are in need of fosters for the summer when the dog population is at a high! If you have any questions please let me know, and I will tell it to you straight and won’t sugar coat it!

Because the CDC and our medical leaders are currently recommending no more than 10 persons be in one area, and we rely on a team of animal care volunteers to ensure our pets are healthy and fed, until further notice we will not be open during normal business hours. This is effective immediately.

If you are interested in adopting from us, we kindly ask that you email townandcountryhumanesociety1@gmail.com or call 402-339-5355 to schedule a private meet and greet with our animals. An adoption application will need to be completed and approved before the meet and greet will be scheduled. These meet and greets will be accommodated Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday, and Saturday from 2 to 4pm unless special circumstances require a time outside of these hours.

This also means, until further notice, we will not be allowing any new volunteers as we cannot schedule new volunteer orientations. While we are saddened that we have to cut back on new member volunteer orientation and postpone all of our events, the safety of our volunteers is incredibly important to us. Now more than ever, Town & Country depends on foster homes. If you are interested in fostering, please email us to learn more about our program. If you are scheduled to adopt an animal this week, you will be contacted with more information.